Summary
A λptrp phage is described in which the five genes for tryptophan biosynthesis are expressed from the leftward promoter of λ and are controlled by the products of λ genes N, cI and cro. From a lysogen of this phage in a strain carrying a deletion for the trp genes derivatives were made that are able to exist in the immune (im +), anti-immune (im −) and sensitive states. Determination of the content of anthranilate synthetase in these strains allows (steady state) quantitation of the effects of N product, repressor and cro-product on leftward transcription in λ. The leftward promoter of λ is extremely efficient, allowing eleven fold more transcription than the trp promoter under fully constitutive conditions. The decrease in leftward transcription due to an active λ repressor is about 900 fold. In contrast, cro product, which maintains the anti-immune state and is therefore very efficient at turning off transcription of the λ repressor gene, has only a small (four-fold) effect on transcription from the leftward promoter under steady-state conditions.
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Communicated by G. Bertani
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Davison, J., Brammar, W.J. & Brunel, F. Quantitative aspects of gene expression in a λ-trp fusion operon. Molec. Gen. Genet. 130, 9–20 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00270514
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00270514